Abstract

 The experiment was conducted at experimental farm situated at 30◦5’N latitude and about 77◦11’E longitudes, an elevation of 1260 m above mean sea level of Department of Environmental Science, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh during 2014 and 2015, to study the effect of elevated CO2 (eCO2) and elevated temperature (eT) on growth, development and nutritional indices of Spodopteralitura on bell pepper plant. Feeding trials with foliage feeding insect S. litura was conducted using foliage of bell pepper plants grown under four concentrations of CO2 and temperature, viz. three Open Top Chambers, (T1: OTC eCO2 550±10 ppm; T2: OTC with elevated temperature 1°C higher and eCO2 550±10 ppm; T3: OTC with ambient temperature and CO2 and T4: natural ambient air and temperature in open. Biochemical analysis of foliage revealed that plants grown under elevated CO2 had lower nitrogen. The larvae fed on eCO2 as well as eCO2 and temperature foliage exhibited greater consumption compared to the larvae fed on foliage under ambient CO2. Larval duration also increased by two days. The eCO2 and eCO2 and temperature foliage was more digestible with higher values of approximate digestibility. The relative consumption rate increased whereas the efficiency parameters, viz. efficiency of conversion of ingested food (ECI), efficiency of conversion of digested food (ECD), and relative growth rate (RGR) decreased in eCO2 and eCO2 and temperature. The consumption and weight gain of the larvae were negatively and significantly influenced by leaf nitrogen.
Highlights
Climate change, especially rise in temperature and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, is a major concern today
Carbon dioxide gas was supplied to the chambers and maintained at set levels using manifold gas regulators, pressure pipelines, solenoid valves, rotameters, sampler, pump, CO2 analyzer, PC linked Program Logic Control (PLC) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)
Leaf nitrogen content was distinctly lower in elevated CO2 (eCO2) foliage (4.08%) followed by eCO2 and eT (4.39 %), aCO2 and temperature (5.16%) and open condition (5.73%) (Fig. 1)
Summary
Circular type open top chambers (OTC) of 4 x 4 m2 dimension were used to raise the crop under elevated and ambient CO2 and temperature conditions. The growth, development as well as nutritional indices of S. litura F. in bell pepper was studied under all the four conditions. The pure culture of S. litura F. was maintained in the laboratory on bell pepper leaves. After hatching of eggs larvae were placed on petri dishes with bell pepper leaves obtained from plants raised under different treatments. Each larva was provided with the leaves of plants grown in the same treatment throughout the life. Each replication consists of five larvae placed on single petri dish. Before offering leaves to larvae the initial weight of larva as well as leaf were measured and after 24 hours weight of remaining leaf, larval weight and faecal matter was recorded. Boric acid (4%) with mixed indicator: Prepared 4% aqueous solution of boric acid, added mixed indicator and adjust pH at 4.5
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